//------------------------------// // Battle of the Crystal Empire // Story: Sunset Shimmer's Redemption // by 00RaiserGundam //------------------------------// It was a few days after the hoedown, and Sunset Shimmer was already friends with half the town. Even Rainbow Dash was starting to warm up to her, emphasis on starting. Sunset and the Mane Six were having lunch at a local café. They had just decided to have a pony pet playdate so that Shadow could get better acquainted with the other pets. An hour later, they had all met up in the park except for Fluttershy. Shadow got along with Winona and Owlowiscious easily enough. Gummy and Tank were a little awkward, but Shadow felt good around them. Opal was a different story. As soon as she saw Shadow she hissed at him so loudly, he actually ran scared back behind Sunset's legs. "Opalescence!" Rarity scolded the cat severely. "You apologize to that poor little pup this instant!" Opal just hissed again in response, earning her a rare growl from Winona. This made Opal flinch before crawling meekly over to Shadow and mewing a soft apology before shamefully slinking away. "Thanks, Winona." Sunset said while petting her. "You're definitely a good friend." "Girls, girls!" the soft and yet unmistakable voice of Fluttershy cried. Everypony turned their heads to see Fluttershy with Angel on her back leading Zecora over to their position, with expressions of worry adorning both of their faces. "Fluttershy, what's wrong?" Twilight asked. "I was on my way back here to the park from fetching Angel, when I ran into Zecora, and she told me some really bad news not too long ago!" she explained. Zecora nodded to everypony. "Indeed, something is very wrong. The Alicorn Amulet is gone." Pinkie threw a hoof over her own mouth. "Oh, no! What if they use it to take away everypony's mouths so nopony can talk anymore?" "Pinkie, calm down!" Twilight said to her before turning to Zecora. "Zecora, can you tell us what happened exactly?" "Off into the forest, I had gone, to gather ingredients for the brews in my throng. But when I returned, I found my hut overturned! While I cleaned my shack, I came to see, that something is no longer where it should be. Twilight Sparkle, my very dear friend, this is most definitely a matter that we must attend." "Zecora," Sunset began, "do you have any idea as to who might have stolen the amulet? Are there any clues the thief might have left behind?" "The only things that I found," Zecora began, "were this black scale and bug wing on the ground." Then she showed them a scale that was almost pitch-black and a piece of wing membrane that looked like it came from an insect. "Twilight," Sunset gasped in a frightened manner, "you don't think…" "We can't know for sure." Twilight responded. "I'll inform Celestia about it though. We need to be prepared for anything." Then all of a sudden, Pinkie Pie's whole body started vibrating violently for a brief moment. "Oh no," Applejack began, "not another doozy!" Then all of a sudden, the ground shook violently, making all ponies fall onto their backs and/or flanks. "What the hay was that?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "That earthquake did not even feel natural." Rarity chimed in. "Uh…girls…" Fluttershy spoke softly in a scared tone. "What is it, Fluttershy?" Sunset asked her. "Look…" Fluttershy answered while pointing towards another town. Then all ponies were gaping in horror at what they saw the blue protection spell that was always over the Crystal Empire was now down. "Oh no." Sunset gasped in fear after putting the pieces together, "My nightmare is coming true." "What nightmare?!" Rainbow asked both specifically and aggressively after flying into Sunset's face. Sunset then began telling all the others about the two nightmares she had a while back. She recounted every detail, from Chrysalis and her changelings using the Alicorn Amulet to revive King Sombra, to those combined forces launching an attack on the Crystal Empire. Even mentioning Princess Luna's opinion of the first dream. "Well why didn't you tell us about these nightmares, huh?!" Rainbow Dash yelled at Sunset. "I thought they were just really bad nightmares." Sunset explained. "Plus, Twilight and I visited Zecora the day that I met all of you guys, and she still had the amulet with her then." "That doesn't matter right now, Dash." Applejack scolded slightly. "What does matter is the fact that the Alicorn Amulet's been stolen, and now the Crystal Empire's under attack. Ah say, we go to the Tree of Harmony, borrow back the Elements, and hightail it over to the Crystal Empire as fast as we can." "While you guys get the Elements," Sunset began, "I'll head back to the library and get Spike to send a letter to Princess Celestia. If what is happening right now really is what I saw in my nightmares, then we're going to need all the help we can get." "Let's meet at the train station when we're ready." Twilight announced. They all agreed and split up. Twilight and the rest of the Element wielders took off for the Everfree Forest while Sunset galloped towards the library. Sunset reached the library in just a few minutes and slammed open the door. Luckily for her, Spike was still there cleaning. "Geez, Sunset, you startled me." He panicked slightly. "What's going on?" "Spike, I need you to write a letter to Princess Celestia, this is very urgent!" Sunset replied. "Ok," Spike responded after getting out a quill and parchment, "ready when you are." "My dearest mentor," Sunset began, "I am writing to inform you of a potential disaster. Me, Twilight, and our friends were just informed by our zebra friend Zecora that the Alicorn Amulet was stolen from her hut. Shortly after that, we felt a massive earthquake and then noticed that the Crystal Empire's shield spell was down immediately afterwards. We think that the Crystal Empire may be under attack. We don't know for certain, but we have reason to suspect that changelings stole the amulet and are responsible for the attack. The only possible proof we have right now is that Zecora found a black scale and a piece of insectoid wing membrane inside her hut. Also, remember that nightmare I told you about on the morning you sent me to Ponyville? I think it might be coming true. Twilight and the others are already retrieving the Elements of Harmony from the Tree of Harmony right now. Once they have them, we'll be heading to the Crystal Empire to help save it. Hopefully the Elements are all we need, but I am informing you so you know what's going on. We might need all the help we can get. Your faithful student…Sunset Shimmer." Once Spike finished writing the letter, he blew his fire on it immediately. "There, it's on its way." He said. "If what you say is true, you better hope the Princess sends Discord to help." "Hopefully it won't come to that." Sunset replied. "Take care of the library while were gone." "You got it." Spike acknowledged her with a salute. "Just be careful." "Don't worry about us, Spike." Sunset replied with an honest smile. "Nothing can defeat us as long as we have our friends by our side." Then she galloped out of the library and towards the train station. By the time she got there, Twilight and the others were already waiting for her. "We don't have much time." Twilight said. "Everypony except for Rainbow Dash, gather around. I'm gonna cast a spell on all of you that should increase our galloping speed to match that of Rainbow's flight speed." Everypony else agreed and gathered around in the circle. Twilight cast her spell which enveloped everypony but Rainbow Dash in a pink aura. The aura stayed on them for a minute or so before finally disappearing. "Did it work?" Rarity asked. "Only one way to find out." Sunset replied and started running towards the Crystal Empire. She was running for five seconds and then stopped. To her astonishment she was already on the other side of Ponyville. When she noticed the others didn't follow her, she ran back to the train station with the same speed. "Well, it works." She said before getting serious. "What are you waiting for, Hearth's Warming? Come on, we got an empire to save!" And with that, they all galloped (except for Rainbow Dash, who was flying) towards the Crystal Empire. By the time they got there, the city was already in chaos, but not even Discord would want chaos of this caliber. Everywhere they looked, changelings were chasing after crystal ponies and fighting members of the Crystal Royal Guard. Twilight and the others immediately galloped towards the central pillars where the Crystal Heart is supposed to be. When they got there, they saw that the earthquake was powerful enough to knock the heart out of its proper place and onto the nearby floor. But that wasn't the only thing that caught their attention. Just like Sunset had seen in her second nightmare, Cadance and Shining Armor were engaged in battle over the Crystal Heart. Their opponents were Chrysalis who was wearing the Alicorn Amulet, and to everypony's utter shock and horror, a fully-revived King Sombra. "They actually brought him back to life?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "How is that even possible?!" "Uh, Alicorn Amulet, remember?!" Applejack shouted in response. "That thing grants untold power. We probably should've expected this!" "Worry about that later!" Sunset yelled in reply. "We can't let either of them get the Crystal Heart, and we need to help Shining Armor and Cadance!" Then Sunset and Twilight galloped full speed at the demonic unicorn and the changeling queen. Both of them hit their targets dead on with attack spells blowing them back a few feet. Rainbow Dash made a beeline for the Crystal Heart and then stood directly over it. "Twily!" Shining Armor exclaimed in surprise. "I can't believe I'm actually about to say this, but boy are we glad to see you!" "Me too!" Cadance exclaimed in relief. "Although why can't our reunions ever be normal?!" "Who dares…" King Sombra hissed threateningly as he and Chrysalis recovered from their blows. "Ah, if it isn't little miss heroine turned Princess." Chrysalis cackled loudly and mockingly. "I see you actually managed to retrieve your elements this time. Too bad they can't help you." "Oh yeah?!" Rainbow Dash said in a cocky tone. "We'll see about that. Let's do this, girls!" Then all six Element wielders began powering up their Elements. But before they could even fire their signature rainbow beam, their power was almost instantaneously cancelled out. "What the hay just happened?" Applejack asked in a severely confused tone before noticing that Chrysalis's horn and the Alicorn Amulet were glowing red. "Are you kiddin' me?! That necklace can even overpower the Elements of Harmony?!" "Guess we'll just have to do this the hard way." Rainbow Dash said while pounding her front hooves together. Meanwhile, Sunset actually saw Lightning Dust seemingly hiding behind a building and looking at the Crystal Heart. No sooner than Rainbow Dash had spoken did a whole platoon of changelings pounce on the Element wielders from out of nowhere. They tried their best to fight them off, but eventually they were overpowered. "We'll take that Crystal Heart now." Chrysalis spoke as she and Sombra chuckled in triumph. "What?!" Sombra gasped in surprise when he noticed the relic was not on the spot where it fell. "Where is it?!" "Over here, tall, dark, and uglies!" Shouted a familiar cocky voice. Everypony turned to see Lightning Dust flapping her wings a few dozen yards away from them. "Looking for something?" She asked Sombra and Chrysalis while showing all of them what she had in her hooves…the Crystal Heart. King Sombra growled upon seeing this. You see, before Sunset was overpowered during the ambush, she placed an enchantment spell on both the Crystal Heart and the section of floor that it landed on. With these enchantments, only Sunset and Lightning Dust could see the real Crystal Heart, while everypony else would still think it was where it had landed even after Lightning had secretly and inconspicuously grabbed the heart while everypony else was busy. "You want it…" Lightning Dust said while getting ready, "come and get it." And with that, she took the Crystal Heart, turned around and immediately sped towards Canterlot so fast, she practically did her own version of Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom. "Don't just stand there you idiots, AFTER HER!" Chrysalis ordered her fastest minions, who then immediately took off after Lightning Dust. Then she turned to her remaining minions. "The rest of you, throw these prisoners in the dungeons. Keep the Crystal Prince and Princess in separate cells. Same goes for the Element wielders." "You'll never get away with this, you oversized cockroach!" Sunset shouted at Chrysalis while struggling against the changelings as they dragged her and the others towards the Crystal Castle dungeons. "We already have my little ponies." Chrysalis replied mockingly. "We already have." Sunset was putting up so much of a struggle against the changelings who were dragging her towards the dungeon that one of them had to knock her out cold with a punch. When she came to, she found her hooves trapped in some strange green goo. "Sunset!" Twilight's voice called. Turning, Sunset saw Twilight in the same cell as her as well as in the same predicament. Upon further investigation, Sunset saw that all the other Element wielders, as well as Cadance and Shining Armor, were in separate cells with goop on their hooves. The Element wielders all still had their Elements on them. This is because once a wielder dons their Element, only the wielder can remove it. "Twilight, we have to get out of here." Sunset said as she struggled to break free. "Lightning Dust may have been able to buy us some time to hold out for reinforcements, but who knows how long she'll be able to outfly those changelings and protect the Crystal Heart." "This slime can't be broken by hoof." Twilight explained. "I've also tried my magic like I did at Cadance's wedding, but it didn't work. Wait…do you guys hear that?" "Hear what, Twilight?" Applejack asked from a distant cell. "Listen!" Twilight shushed everypony else. When they were all quiet they soon knew what Twilight was talking about. A battle was going on outside. "Is that…" Fluttershy began, only to be interrupted by a familiar cheeky voice. "The sound of the reinforcements come to save the day? Yes, yes it is." Said Discord who had just appeared behind Fluttershy from out of nowhere. "Discord!" Fluttershy happily yet oh so softly exclaimed. "Boy am I glad to see you." "I never thought I'd say this, but I agree with Fluttershy on this one." Rarity agreed, so did everypony else, though Shining Armor was still just the tiniest bit skeptical. "How did you know we needed help or where to find us for that matter?" Twilight asked "Well, to answer your first question," Discord explained as he used his chaos magic to unlock the cells and melt the goo traps one by one, "I was just taking a short stroll through the Canterlot Castle gardens when out of nowhere, this green pegasus with a blonde mane who kind of reminds me of Rainbow Dash ends up crash landing out of exhaustion right in front of my feet." "That's Lightning Dust!" Sunset exclaimed. "Is she alright?!" "Oh she's just fine." Discord answered her while continuing his jailbreak rescue. "In fact, she's out there with others, helping to defend and take back the Empire. Anyway, she was being pursued by a bunch of changelings, so I had to drive them off. When I turned towards the unconscious Lightning Dust, as you called her, imagine my surprise when I find the Crystal Heart clutched tightly in her hooves. I immediately thought something was up, so I decided to bring her to the infirmary and inform Celestia and Luna. When Lightning Dust came to, she told us everything that had happened before she fled to Canterlot with the Crystal Heart. The rest you can pretty much guess, from the sound of Lockon and the other guards battling out there." "Wait, Lockon's here too?!" Sunset exclaimed in worry. "Oh yes, that was our plan." Discord explained. "He distracts Sombra and the Changelings while I free you guys. Oh, and I believe this belongs to you." He then handed them the Crystal Heart. "Thanks, Discord." Twilight told him. "But we need to get out their fast." "Alright, everypony, let's do this!" Sunset shouted in agreement. Then they all galloped out of the dungeons and towards the battle. 'I just hope that Lockon has not made a terrible mistake.' Sunset thought to herself while they galloped. They had finally reached the central pillars where the Crystal Heart should have been housed. Royal guards were fighting all the changelings, although this time they were doing better, especially since the Wonderbolts were helping from the skies, with Lightning Dust helping out. And, as fate would have it, King Sombra was already at the central pillars waiting for them, along with Chrysalis. "We figured you might try to pull something when your reinforcements came." Chrysalis said. "You sure are persistent, I'll give you that. But we're growing tired of this little game." "Now…give us the Crystal Heart!" Sombra growled with his horn glowing. "Not a chance, you monsters!" Applejack shouted in response. "So be it!" Sombra and Chrysalis replied, both of their horns glowing, ready to get rid of them. But before they had a chance to fire their spells, they were suddenly blasted a considerable distance away from the Element wielders by a sapphire blue beam of magic. "Who could have done that?" Sunset asked in astonishment. Then everypony turned and saw Lockon Astros armored up and ready for battle. Only, the armor he was currently wearing was different from the armor that Shining Armor wore when he was Captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard. Lockon's armor had a few subtle spikes pointing backwards on both sides of his back. "Are you ponies alright?" He asked. "We're fine." Twilight answered. "But how are we going to defeat those two? With that Alicorn Amulet, they can cancel out the Elements of Harmony before we even get to use them." "Guys, I have an idea." Sunset said in response. "What if we combined the power of the Elements with that of the Crystal Heart?" "I think I see where you're going with this, but will that even work?" Rainbow Dash asked in reply. "You got any better ideas?" Sunset countered. Rainbow just shook her head. "Even if we try that, that changeling can easily cancel out the Elements again with that Alicorn Amulet." Applejack reminded them. "Lockon, your highnesses." Sunset directed towards them. "Do you think you can distract those changelings and protect us while we power up the Elements?" "Of course, Sunset." Cadance firmly yet eagerly agreed. "I'm still not too sure about this plan." Shining Armor voiced his concern. "But right now it's the only one we have, so I'm willing to do it." "LOOK OUT!" Pinkie Pie shouted just as she saw a second group of changelings just jumping out of nowhere for another ambush attempt. However, Lockon was ready for them. "Fly, my fangs!" He shouted, and immediately afterwards all of the spikes on the back of his armor flew off on their own, towards the attacking changelings and started blasting them on their own in midflight with magic that was sapphire blue in color. The beams all hit their targets, making the entire group of ambushing changelings drop like flies. "Let's get to work, then." Lockon said and flew off towards Sombra and Chrysalis, with Cadance and Shining Armor following suit. "Don't worry, ladies." Discord assured them. "I'll stay with you. Nopony is getting past me." After that he snapped his fingers and put up a shield spell in his own style. The Mane Six then stood in a circle started powering up the Elements of Harmony, while Sunset held onto the Crystal Heart in the middle of the circle. She wanted to help out by doing more than just holding the heart, but she did not know how. Then a crazy idea hit her. It was a long shot, certainly, but everything she'd heard and/or read about the Crystal Heart supported her theory. Holding the heart tightly, Sunset thought about everything and everypony she loved; Ponyville, Princess Celestia, her friends, Shadow, Lockon… The Crystal Heart began to glow. The light flowed over Sunset's body, and then those of the Mane Six, changing them all to crystal. Then magic from the Elements began to flow into the Crystal Heart itself. The Crystal Heart took on a beautiful rainbow color. Then Discord lowered his barrier just before the Element boosted Crystal Heart let off a powerful explosion of light, love, and harmony that expanded at a very rapid rate. As it expanded toward the borders of the Crystal Empire and passed over the beings that were still inside, rather than push the changelings out of the city and off into the horizon like Shining Armor and Cadance did during their wedding, this shield actually pushed them all to just beyond the border of the now newly-formed rainbow barrier, while all the ponies and crystal ponies were left unharmed and some were even healed. "Did it work?" Fluttershy asked meekly. "Did we save the Crystal Empire?" Her question was answered by the cheers of the royal guard and the crystal ponies everywhere, with no changeling in sight. "Yeah! We did it!" Rainbow Dash cheered before turning to Sunset Shimmer. "Sunset, you are a genius!" "Way to go, Sunset!" Applejack agreed. "That idea of yers just saved the whole Crystal Empire." "Oh, girls, stop, you're making me blush." Sunset replied rather bashfully. "Wait, Cadance! Shining Armor!" Twilight just gasped in remembrance. "We have to find them." "Don't worry Twilight, they're both fine." Discord assured her. "But just to help you, I'll teleport all of you to their location." Then he snapped his fingers and in that instant all seven mares were transported to their location. Meanwhile moments earlier with Lockon, Cadance, and Shining Armor… They were going over the plan to distract the enemy leaders. Lockon volunteered to take on the changeling and let Cadance and Shining Armor battle King Sombra. The royal couple didn't even get a chance to tell him not to take revenge because Lockon had already hightailed it towards the point where Chrysalis and Sombra landed and were recovering from that blast. Lockon was the first to arrive on the scene. Sombra and Chrysalis were already standing on their hooves though still recovering. When Lockon saw Chrysalis however, his blood began to boil. The only thing on his mind at this moment was his desire to avenge his parents and his beloved older sister, Sapphire. "That's the one…" he murmured softly as his rage began to build up. "That's the changeling." "The one who took mom and dad…" he spoke somewhat louder. Shining Armor and Cadance were just arriving at this point. Cadance was already sensing the high levels of rage in Lockon's heart. "The one who drained Sapphire…" his volume was moderate, and yet loud enough for Shining Armor and Cadance to hear him. "THE CHANGELING FROM THAT DAY!!!!" Lockon yelled as he fired a massive beam of magic that was the exact same color as the ones that the fangs on his armor did earlier against the changeling ambush that he stopped. The beam hit Chrysalis dead on and pushed her back a considerable distance. Shining Armor and Cadance were too late to stop Lockon as he had already spread his wings and sped off after Chrysalis while she was still flying back. They were then interrupted by King Sombra charging straight for them before they could go after Lockon. Shining Armor kept putting up shield spells in defense, while Cadance tried to blast Sombra with attack spells Chrysalis had just barely enough time to perform and complete a quick full health recovery spell, before Lockon slammed into her at a speed that would rival Rainbow Dash before pinning her against the wall of a nearby building. "Remember me, Chrysalis?!?!" She shouted at her. Chrysalis then recognized him and smirked evilly. "Ah, now I recognize you." She said. "Let me guess…trying to avenge your family, are you? You know, it's actually pretty good that you actually managed to survive all this time. I can sense the love for your deceased family powering up that hatred you are showing me right now. Once I defeat you, I am going to suck you dry, just like I drained your sister so long ago." Then she cackled evilly like a maniac. Lockon was beyond livid now. "You'll never get that chance." He replied. "Because I'm going make sure that you pay dearly for what you've done. And unlike you, I have been training to my limits ever since that day. I don't need a magical amulet to give me an edge in a battle. All you're doing is hiding behind a magic that is not even yours, like the cowardly disgusting cockroach that you really are." Chrysalis then blasted a red beam at Lockon, pushing him back a few yards, before getting back on her hooves and into a battle stance. "Do you even have the skills to back up your words, you little Canterlot punk?!" "Come find out." Lockon responded while taking on a combat stance of his own. Then they flew straight at each other full force and full speed, upon which they clashed horns and their battle began. Meanwhile, King Sombra was using his dark magic to make black crystals pop up out of the ground and put the pressure on Cadance and Shining Armor. Cadance was starting to get tired from firing attack spells, and it was getting difficult for Shining Armor to keep his shield spells active. But the rulers of the Crystal Empire still refused to be defeated. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up, Shining Armor." Cadance panted to her husband. "We have to keep fighting." Shining Armor replied as he put up another shield. "We need to have faith in Twilight and her friends. Though, whatever it is they are doing, I hope they would hurry up." Just after he finished talking the Elemental Crystal Heart Protection spell began exploded and forced all the changelings just a few dozen yards outside the Crystal Empire. "NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" King Sombra roared as the spell destroyed every last part of him including his horn, this time for good. Lockon and Chrysalis were heated up in their duel, both equines matching each other blast for blast and blow for blow. However, the explosion was enough to distract both of them from their duel. When the rainbow barrier reached them, Chrysalis was pushed away and the Alicorn Amulet was destroyed as well. However, Lockon decided to end this score once and for all, and flew after Chrysalis, determined to avenge his family. "At last," Shining Armor sighed with relief, "it's finally over." "Not yet, Shining Armor." Cadance corrected him. "The changelings are still alive and Lockon went after the queen. We have to stop him before he makes what will probably be the biggest mistake of his life." Then a brief flash of light appeared, revealing Twilight, Sunset, and the others. "Cadance! Shining Armor!" Twilight exclaimed in joy and ran up to hug both of them. "Twily you did it." Shining Armor replied while he and Cadance eagerly returned the hug. "I don't know how you pulled it off, but you did it." "Wait…" Sunset cut in. "Where's Lockon?" She asked with worry in her voice. "King Sombra was destroyed by the barrier." Cadance answered her. "But the changelings were only pushed just outside the Crystal Empire. Lockon went after the queen." "Then we have to find him before he makes a life-changing mistake!" Sunset raised her voice. Everypony else nodded in agreement and they immediately galloped after him. Chrysalis crash landed in front of her minions. It was only when she recovered from her daze that she noticed the Alicorn Amulet was gone. After seeing all of her minions looking pretty banged up, she spoke to them, catching all their attention. "The plan has failed." She addressed them. "And we are in no condition to try to save it. Everyone, retreat!" "You're not getting away from me this time!" Announced the voice of Lockon from behind Chrysalis. "FLY, MY FANGS!!!!" He shouted. And all the magic fangs on his armor flew off and towards Chrysalis and her minions and then started firing blue magic beams at them. Chrysalis was separated from her army, giving Lockon a chance to perform a barrier spell on the changeling minions, trapping them all inside. Then all the fangs began targeting Chrysalis and blasting her before knocking her down. "This can't be happening…" Chrysalis murmured to herself. "I can't perish yet…I refuse to die this way!" Then she found herself being lifted up in a sapphire blue levitation magic bubble. "I know…" Lockon said to her. "And I'm sure you don't want to die. But my mom and dad…and my sister Sapphire…you never even gave them the chance to SAY THOSE WORDS!!!!" Then he slammed Chrysalis repeatedly on the ground several times, making craters with each impact, before tossing her across the snowfield like a ragdoll. Then, he cast a spell which made vines pop up out of the ground and wrap themselves around Chrysalis's legs, her neck, and her midsection, thus immobilizing her. Lockon then began charging up an attack spell to finish the job. "I've been waiting a long time for this. This is for my family." He said in pure rage. He had just finished charging his spell, and was just about to fire it when he heard a familiar voice. "LOCKON, STOP!!" It shouted. He turned and saw Sunset Shimmer running towards him while everypony else was standing in a group not too far behind. "Don't interfere, Sunset Shimmer." Lockon warned her. "This doesn't concern you." "I think it does when one of my friends is about to make a HUGE mistake." She replied firmly. "If only you knew what this monster did to me…" Lockon responded. "I know about your parents Lockon, and about your sister." Sunset interrupted him, making him freeze for a brief moment causing him to drop the spell. "I know what happened that night, what the changelings did to you." "Then you of all ponies should be able to understand that there is no way in Tartarus that I can let this monster live." Lockon responded. "Is this really worth it?!" Sunset asked him in desperation. "Revenge never solves anything!" "I know. I heard that phrase millions of times before. I've been constantly lectured about the subject millions of times before. And to be quite frank, I don't really give two flying feathers!" Lockon replied, shocking Sunset and everypony else. "As long I can finally avenge my sister and birth parents, nothing else matters to me anymore." Then he turned towards Chrysalis again. Twilight, Cadance, and Shining Armor were shocked beyond words. The rest of the Mane Six all had looks on their faces varying from shocked or horrified, to practically on the verge of breaking down into tears. It almost looked like there was no hope left for Lockon. Sunset, however, had heard just about enough. She marched right up to him and used her own magic to force him to face her. Absolutely nopony was expecting what happened next. Sunset Shimmer swiftly raised her forehoof and slapped Lockon across the face. This earned her shocked glances from everypony who was watching. Lockon Astros remained where he stood, slowly raising his forehoof to his face to touch where she slapped him before looking back at her. Her eyes were teary but firm, adding to the disappointed look on her face. "LISTEN TO YOURSELF!! DO YOU EVEN REALIZE WHAT YOU ARE SAYING RIGHT NOW!? IS THAT REALLY WHAT YOU BELIEVE WILL BRING PEACE TO YOUR MIND, HEART, AND SOUL!?!?" She shouted at him. "Do you really think that killing their murderer in cold blood just for the sake of revenge is going to make your parents and sister happy?!" Lockon remained silent, but his rage disappeared. "I've been recovering from my own darkness for far too long to just let you give in to yours." Sunset continued. "How do you think your birth parents would feel knowing that their son was about to let himself become a murderer who kills in cold blood just for the sake of avenging his family? Do you honestly think that Sapphire would be proud of her own little brother for throwing away his life just to avenge her?" Lockon's face then turned into a look of shame. His ears even folded back against his head. "If you really think that killing the changelings in cold blood for revenge is going to make your sister and your birth parents happy, then you are no prince…" Sunset continued this time with tears flowing down her cheeks. "You're no captain of the Canterlot Royal guard…and you are definitely NOT the stallion that I started to fall in love with." Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Twilight, and Cadance gasped upon hearing this. Lockon was beyond shocked. But more importantly, he was finally understanding. 'What the hay am I doing?' He thought to himself. 'Have I really been so blinded by my own desires for revenge these past five years? Sunset's right. Sapphire would never have wanted me to end up like this. Our parents raised me better than that.' Sunset was just about to turn around and walk away when Lockon spoke again. "You're right, Sunset…" he said, "about everything." Then he undid the spells maintaining the vines holding Chrysalis and the cage holding her minions. Then he immediately turned to the queen. "I can never forgive you for what you did all those years ago." He said in a firm voice. "But Sunset's right. Destroying you right now just to avenge my parents and my sister, would make me just as bad as you. And I would rather feed myself to a hydra than stoop down to your level. So just this once I'm going to let you go." "But let me make one thing perfectly clear." He continued after getting up close face-to-face with Chrysalis and poking his hoof into her now terrified face as he spoke certain words in each of his sentences. "I don't ever want to see you or any of your minions around here or anywhere else in Equestria ever again. If I ever catch any of you targeting my friends or loved ones ever again, all of the magic users among them are going to need to cast the highest level locator spell, just to find what's left of you. Have I made myself clear?" "C-c-c-c-crystal." Chrysalis stammered and then gulped out of fear. "Good." Lockon responded. "Now do us all a favor, and get out of here before I have a chance to even think about changing my mind." "RETREAT!!!!" Chrysalis ordered her minions. Then they all took to the sky and buzzed off into the horizon as fast as they possibly could. Chrysalis's wings were broken from the impacts of Lockon slamming her into the ground, so several of her minions had to carry her on their backs while flying. Hopefully, this would be the final time that Equestria would ever see the likes of the changelings again. "It's finally over." Lockon sighed. "I'm so proud of you." Cadance said while hugging him. "How can you possibly be proud of me?" Lockon asked her. "I lost sight of what's really important. I almost became a monster. It's true, I'm no prince. And I don't deserve to be Captain of Canterlot's Royal Guard." "Those statements would ALMOST be true IF you had actually decided to go through with your revenge." Shining Armor answered him. "But you finally put it to rest on your own. That makes you better than those changelings will ever be." "Well, I never would have put it behind me if it weren't for Sunset Shimmer." Then he turned in her direction and wrapped his wings and front hooves around her in a hug. "Thank you, by the way. Looks like all I needed was to have some sense literally slapped into me." "Oh, sorry about that, by the way." Sunset apologized. "That's OK." Lockon replied. "I forgive you. Did you mean what you said, by the way? About your feelings for me?" Sunset paused for a long while. "I meant every word." She replied in complete honesty. "If you don't feel the same way about me, I underst-" Lockon than interrupted her by putting his hoof on her lips. "That's all I needed to hear." He whispered before doing something that nopony, not even Cadance was expecting. He took his hoof off of Sunset's lips and put it under her chin. He looked into her eyes for a good few seconds before moving his face towards her. Then, he pushed his face forward, pressing his lips against hers. Sunset's eyes were widened in shock as she could not believe what Lockon was doing. Sunset continued staring at him in shock, but then… her eyes began surrendering to the power of the kiss. She slowly closed her eyes and accepted the kiss, feeling the warm softness of his lips. After a moment, Lockon pulled away slowly. His cheeks were blooming intensely as they were reddened far more than Sunset had ever seen in the short time she had known him up to now. "Now you know how I feel about you." He whispered into her ear. Sunset smiled at him before turning back to everypony else. "Come on, everypony." She said. "Let's go help the crystal ponies clean up whatever mess there is." Everypony nodded in agreement and headed back towards the main city, happy that the worst of this whole ordeal was finally over.